ElderberryJuice

This is a simple method for juice extraction allowing you to store the elderberry juice in a way that may make it easier for you to incorporate into your daily diet.

Prepare the berries as for jelly, by removing large stems from ripe elderberries. Crush them in a saucepan and place over low heat until the juice begins to flow. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes. (Add a small amount of water if you want a less concentrated juice.) Strain it through a jelly bag. If you wish, add honey to taste, and perhaps a bit of lemon juice. Chill, and either use right away or squirrel into the freezer. Freezing into ice cube trays and then transferring to a bag makes for easy retrieval.

Combine apples, parsnips, potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan. Pour in cold water to cover, add salt and bring to a boil. Partially cover the pan and simmer over medium-low heat until the vegetables are very tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and mash with a potato masher until smooth. Stir in sour cream. Season with salt and pepper.

Mizuna&AppleSaladwithWarmPloughgateCheese

Cut the cheese and let sit at room temperature while doing the rest of the preparation. Core apples and slice into thin rounds. Stack the rounds and cut into matchsticks. In a bowl, toss the mesclun, mizuna and apples. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the vinaigrette on the greens lightly, just enough to barely coat them. Form greens and apples into a nice mound on the plate and lay three pieces of cheese against the greens. Drizzle some more vinaigrette around the plate making sure the cheese gets some too.

Place ingredients in bowl and whisk. You do not want to emulsify this dressing, as it will be too thick. When you go to use it, just whisk again until ingredients come together.Boxty (Irish Potato Griddle Cakes)In honor of St Patrick's Day and great potatoes, I have dug up a couple of classic Irish poato recipes. This one comes complete with an Irish rhyme: Boxty on the griddle Boxty in the pan If you can't make boxty You'll never get a man

Beet,AppleandGoatCheeseSalad

Yet another from Cook's Garden... There are seemingly endless variations of beet and apple salads and I have never met one I didn't like. So in honor of THE LAST beets of the share (pretty sure this may be it!) do them right by using them in a way that makes you pine for the day the new beets get pulled from the ground. This recipe is merely a suggestion, feel free to change up nuts (pecans, walnuts, pine nuts), cheeses (goat, feta, blue), herbs etc! I had a very similar salad the other night with beets, apples, some grated celeriac, pecans, blue cheese and maple balsamic. Funny thing is that even in the book the title is as above, but the recipe itself calls for feta. Apparently, even the author couldn't decide. So dig through the fridge and see what you've got t0 throw together.

In a soup pot, heat the oil. Add the onions and cook for a few minutes until starting to turn golden. Add the cider and cook until it reduces somewhat. Add the potatoes, stock and beer, bring to a boil, simmer it, covered. Whisk the cheddar in off the heat.Blend, in small batches, in a blender. Be VERY careful and pulse the liquid. If too thick, add some water. It wonâ€™t deter from the flavor.Once the soup is all blended, add the cream. In a small pan, melt the butter. When it melts, add in the apple chunks, and cook for a couple of minutes until they start to get a bit caramelized. Garnish Soup with carmelized apples.

BlueberryMuffins

You all probably have a go to recipe for muffins, but JUST in case you don't, this muffin recipe from the Joy of Cooking is the one I turn to for unfailingly good muffins. You can substitute up to 1 cup whole-wheat flour or whole-wheat pastry flour for an equal measure of all-purpose flour. You can use the liquid ingredient of your choice, from low-fat milk to cream. You can even use sour cream, yogurt or buttermilk if you add in 1/2 tsp baking soda. You can use from a half stick to a whole stick butter. (Definitely opt for the larger qty of butter if you will be eating these muffins hours or a day after being made). Yield 14-16 muffins

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a standard 12-muffin pan.In a large bowl, whisk together thoroughly the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg (if using). In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk or cream, sugar, butter or oil, and vanilla.Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with a few light strokes, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in the frozen or thawed blueberries. Do not overmix; the batter should not be smooth. Divide the batter among the muffin cups.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in 1 or 2 of the muffins comes out clean, about 12 to 25 minutes or more depending on how big the muffins are, how big the berries are, whether berries are frozen etc. Let cool for 5 minutes minimum before removing from the pan. If not serving hot, let cool on a rack. Serve as soon as possible, preferably within a few hours of baking.

Variations - You can substitute different berries for this recipe - raspberries, strawberries are great too. When adding berries, if they aren't real sweet, you can add 1/3 cup sugar. You can add up to 1 cup of nuts to any (walnuts are particularly good in raspberry muffins). If using mashed fruit, like bananas, add 1 cup.

CherryInfusedGin

1/2 pint cherries, pitted and stemmed1 pint gin

Once cherries are stemmed, gently smashed them in a bowl. Place them in a sealable vessel and pour the gin over. Let this sit for 2-3 days. The juniper in the gin works really well with the cherries. Served in chilled glasses, garnishing with some of the macerated cherries.Stir Fried Kohlrabi and Mushrooms

Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add onion and garlic (and fresh ginger, if using) and cook stirring frequently for about 1 minute. Add mushrooms, continue cooking another minute or two. Add kohlrabi and cook for three minutes, stirring frequently. Add the water, soy, sesame oil, vinegar, pepper and dried ginger. Cover, reduce heat slightly and cook at a high simmer for about 5 minutes, until kohlrabi is crisp tender.

BlueberryCobbler

There are lots of blueberry cobbler recipes out there. This one is pretty standard, though you could choose one that uses honey and whole grain flour that would also be delicious. I just wanted to throw out the idea. This is a very good recipe however!

DirectionsLightly grease an 8 inch square baking dish. Place the blueberries into the baking dish, and mix with vanilla and lemon juice. Sprinkle with 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of flour, then stir in the tablespoon of melted butter. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 3/4 cups of flour, baking powder, and 6 tablespoons sugar. Rub in the 5 tablespoons butter using your fingers, or cut in with a pastry blender until it is in small pieces. Make a well in the center, and quickly stir in the milk. Mix just until moistened. You should have a very thick batter, or very wet dough. You may need to add a splash more milk. Cover, and let batter rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spoon the batter over the blueberries, leaving only a few small holes for the berries to peek through. Mix together the cinnamon and 2 teaspoons sugar; sprinkle over the top.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown. A knife inserted into the topping should come out clean - of course there will be blueberry syrup on the knife. Let cool until just warm before serving. This can store in the refrigerator for 2 days.